Some high school pitchers are also great hitters. The best players on either side of the ball, they can dominate games from the mound and the plate.
Travis Dohr is not one of those pitchers. The Bothell (Wa.) High ace is the kind of pitcher who can dominate a game when his location is on and can definitely make contact, but he is hardly a slugger. In fact, heading into the 2013 season, the senior hadn’t hit a home run in a game since he was in the eighth grade.
That all changed when Dohr started the most meaningful game of the season, against Seattle (Wa.) O’Dea High, a squad which had previously featured his best friend, Josh Dickerson. According to the Bothell Reporter, Dickerson passed away in 2012 after battling cancer for three years.
Dohr entered the season determined to make the most of it in memory of his late friend. Then, against Dickerson’s old squad, Dohr pitched four shutout innings and also connected on his first home run in four years. He did it pitching against one of Dickerson’s other closest friends, O’Dea starter Dylan Wade, and both agreed afterward that there was something special carrying Dohr’s ball toward the fence and over.
“I don’t hit home runs at all,” Dohr told the Reporter. “I was really surprised.
“I know [Wade] felt it too, Josh’s presence."
While Dohr is focused on the season, he makes it clear that baseball is only part of his life, a realization that was put firmly in perspective by the passing of his best friend.
Now, he can live on in his memory.
“I am just happy to wake up and get to play every day,” said Dohr.
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